Redemption Song
by I'm-A-War
Summary: Bella is a reggae singer with a drug addict mother, and a gay best friend. After her mother is shot in a drug deal gone bad, Bella is forced to move in with her estranged father across the country. In Forks, Bella meets a mysterious drummer with and even more mysterious family. Jasper fascinates her and pisses her off at the same time. Rated M fro swearing and heavy drug use.
1. Chapter 1

"_Won't you help to sing_

"_These songs of freedom._

"_Cause all I ever had._

"_Redemption songs._

"_Those songs of freedom._

"_Songs of freedom." _I finished the masterpiece of a song written by the reggae equivalent of Jesus with an open G chord. I was answered with a roaring applause. Some people even stood. I smiled, and bowed carefully.

"Thank you." I said softly into the battered mic, and quickly unplugged my set. My best friend's grinning face was waiting for me backstage.

"You did Bob proud out there." said Jacob, giving me a rib-crushing bear hug.

"Can't breathe, Jake." I gasped, struggling to get free. He let me go, mumbling an apology. Jacob had recently gonethrough some crazy growth spurt, and still wasn't used to his large frame yet.

"So I did ok? I didn't sound like some white girl that thinks reggae is defined by No Doubt?" I asked, half joking.

"The dreads and the rasta flannel helped a little." He countered. I shook out my dreads in response, earning an "Ewww." from Jake.

"You sounded amazing, Bells. Like you've been living in Jamaica your whole life." He assured me. That made me feel great. It's hard to sing reggae and have people take you seriously here in Arizona.

"Good enough to win a high school talent show?" I asked.

"Good enough to win a Grammy." He replied. We waited for the last three acts to go, two dance crews and an opera singer. Finally, the teachers unlucky enough to be the judges of an amateur talent show. They deliberated for an agonizing five minutes, and finally, Mr. Piper announced the winners. "In third place, Furious Anarchy." A band of black and metal clad boys shouted and cheered. Inwardly I groaned. "In second place, Stacy Phillips." The girl who had performed an ballet routine that made my feet hurt just watching joined the wannabe death rockers onstage.

"Finally, in first place…." I squeezed Jacob's hand. "Isabella Swan." The audience cheered, and my eyed watered a little, I was so happy. I decided to fuck the stairs, and jumped onto the stage. Mr. Piper and my guitar teacher, Ms. Lynne handed me a $500 check and a cheesy plastic trophy. I was so proud of myself; nothing could ruin this for me.

I was wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

Me and Jake stopped at the Taco Shack for vegan bean burritos and smoothies. We talked for a while, and headed back to my place.

"You can spend the night, if you want." I offered, as we approached my house. It was one AM, and I didn't really want my russet skinned friend walking home alone in my racist white trash neighborhood.

"Your mom won't mind?" he asked unnecessarily. I rolled my eyes.

"No. Not like you're gonna almost get me pregnant. Again." I joked.

"Not funny, Swan. You taking that test was the scariest moment of my life." He growled.

"Well, now that you've accepted yourself, we don't have to worry about that nonsense again, do we?" I replied lightly, even though that night had been equally as horrifying for me. When we were 15, we thought it was a good idea for us to have sex. We had been friends for a while, we trusted each other and we both wanted to know what it was like. Well, we were stupid, and didn't use any protection, and I almost got pregnant. A few months later, Jacob came out to me as gay, saying he wanted to have sex with me to prove to himself he wasn't.

"I still can' believe you talked to me after that." he thought aloud.

"Virginity was never a big deal for me. I'm glad I lost it to you, and not some loser." I replied honestly.

We were silent until we got to my house. If you can call it that. Renee and I used to keep this place really nice, and stylish looking for a trailer. There were tons of flowers and cacti around the front, and beautiful wind chimes and lawn ornaments. Now the grass was overgrown, the flowers were dead, and the ground was littered with cigarette butts and beer cans. All because _he _came into our lives, and ruined my mother.

"Mom, we're home." I called as Jake and I walked in. It smelled like cigarettes and crank in here.

"Mom, I won the talent show. Wanna see my trophy?" I called, hopefully. No reply. I checked the bathroom, which was empty except for old lightbulbs, tin foil, and other kinds of meth paraphernalia. Disgusted, I yelled "Jesus, mom, you could at least try to hide this shit." Not that I'm exactly a saint. I smoke weed time to time, but I would never try hard drugs. I've seen firsthand what they do.

"Bella, come here!" cried Jake. I ran towards his voice, in Renee's bedroom. Jake was knelt on the floor, over my mom. She was lying on the ground on her side.

"Damn it, she passed out again." I muttered, rolling her over on her back. What I saw will haunt me the rest of my life. My mother, my beautiful, meth addicted mother had a bullet hole in her stomach. I froze, feeling adrenaline rush through my veins. There was blood all over the floor. My mom's eyes were open and glassy, no hint of the usual humor in them.

"Mom. Mommy, wake up. Mommy, please, this isn't funny." I cried, shaking her a little. She didn't respond.

"Call 911!" cried Jacob, and he started performing CPR on her. I pulled out my archaic Nokia from my pocket with trembling hands.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"676 Park Road, Shangri-La . My mom, she's hurt, real bad. Someone shot her." Saying the world suddenly made the situation real. I started to panic.

"I've got an ambulance on the way. How long ago was she shot?"

"I don't fucking know! I just got here five minutes ago. Please send someone." I begged. Jacob continued to do chest compressions. My mom still lay there, still as a…._Corpse _my voice of reason finished for me.

"An ambulance should be there soon. Is she responsive?"

"No." I croaked.

"Do you know CPR?"

"My friend is doing that. Wait, I hear the sirens." I dropped the phone and hovered over my mother.

"She's not waking up, Bella. There isn't a pulse." Jake stopped doing chest compressions.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed, and started them up again.

"She's gone, Bells." He said quietly.

"No. Mom, wake UP! You can't leave me alone. Mommy, please. Mommy, _don't leave me_." I sobbed, pressing her chest hard. I felt for a pulse. _He's right _my voice of reason said. I ignored it. I grabbed her hand. It was cold. That's all I remember before I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up to a bright, fluorescent light. My head was pounding. It felt like a hangover, but bone-deep. I sat up in an uncomfortable plastic chair. I looked around the stark white room, confused.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" asked a familiar voice. Billy, Jacob's dad, sat in his wheelchair in front of me.

"I feel like death. Where are we?" I asked, starting to remember what had happened before I passed out.

"The hospital. You're mom went into a coma for a while, but," he sighed, sounding genuinely it was too late. She's gone, Bells." he said, Jacob clutched my hands. A dam broke inside me, and I started to sob, and flung my arms around my best friend. That was a whole new kind of hurt. It felt like someone had shot me, too, but the hole wouldn't heal. My mother was gone. My beautiful mommy, who always promised me better, who never yelled at me for the way I wanted to dress, and never judged me. I missed her so much already. I didn't want to believe she was gone. I wanted so badly just to hear her laugh to have her hug me, and tuck me in, like she used to when I was little. I wanted to hear her voice, no matter what it was saying. I went from a tough girl who wore flannel and dreads to a big-eyed little girl who wanted her mommy. We had been doing just fine, until she met _him_. Phil, her drug dealer boyfriend who turned her onto meth, and got her in too deep with the drug scene. This was his fault.

I sobbed for a long time, and Jacob stayed with me the whole time. This pain was too much, and I needed to escape this hospital. My mom's body was here, but she wasn't. I would never see her again. And I couldn't deal with that.

I ran out of that hospital like a bat out of hell. I'm not athletic, but that night I forgot that. Jake started chasing me, but gave up about a half-mile in. He knew I needed to be alone. I ran the whole way home, 4 miles without stopping. I passed out from exhaustion when I reached my home. I went straight to my mom's bed, and was gone to the world as soon as I hit the bed.

Jake let me stay with him for two weeks after the funeral. Thank god my mom had had life insurance, which not only covered the funeral, but gave me funds to last for a few years. I was silent the first week after the funeral, but Jake knocked me back into reality.

"You have to get up." He said, after my eighth day laying on his couch in a catatonic state. I hadn't gotten up for anything, except to go to the bathroom. I hadn't showered since the funeral. Jake's dad, Billy, and my mom's sister LeAnn had planned everything. Lots of red roses and pictures of my mother before her bout with meth. My mom hated roses.

"No." I muttered, and rolled away from him.

"This isn't healthy, Bells. You haven't eaten anything in a week." He countered, and pulled me towards him.

"Jesus, girl. Go get a shower, _now."_ he demanded in a no-nonsense voice.

"Why should I?!" I screamed, pushing him away. I was too tired for this. Every movement hurt. The pain of losing my mother was too much.

"Because, Bella, you stink. Renee wouldn't have wanted you to do this to yourself. You have to get up, join the world again." he waited for me to move, but I didn't. Angrily, he picked me up, and threw me over his shoulder.

"What the fuck, man?!" I screamed, fighting him to put me down.

"You're getting a shower, putting on fresh clothes, and going outside." He growled. Annoyed, I stopped fighting him. He must have been working out or something, because a few months before, I could beat him at arm wrestling. He carried me to the bathroom, and put me down.

"I'm sorry, Bells, but I can't watch you sit on that couch, and rot." he said softly.

"You're probably the only person that knows what I'm going through, but I keep pushing you away. _I'm _sorry, Jake." I murmured. He smiled sadly, and closed the bathroom door. I sighed, and looked in the mirror. My skin had a yellow-ish tone to it. My dreads were really knotted, and smelled musty. Mye eyes looked hollow, and there were deep purple rings under them. I smelled worse than I looked. I shuddered, and got a long, hot shower. When I got out, I felt much better. I towel dried my dreads, which looked great. Jacob had bought me dread shampoo, even though he hated them. I peeked my head out the door.

"Jake, can I borrow some clothes?" I called out.

"Sure." He yelled back. After a few seconds, he handed me my own soft peach sweater, panties, bra, and worn jeans.

"Thanks, man."

The next few days were easier. I showered daily, went out with Jacob to the beach. One night we even went camping in the desert. I still missed my mom terribly, but Jake made it easier to bear. Things were going good, until my dad called.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, and lack of comments on the first three chapters -_- I suck, I know! Thank you so much for all the reviews and to whoever reads this. It really means a lot to me! Hope you like this chapter, lots of things changing for reggae-Bella!

"Bella, phone." called Jake. I jumped off the couch, and walked to the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Hi, um, is this Isabella?" asked the eerily familiar voice on the other line.

"Yeah, this is Bella." I responded nervously.

"Oh, great! Hi Bella, um this is uh, you dad, Charlie." He said nervously.

"Oh. Wow, uh, hi Charlie. I guess you heard about mom?" I replied awkwardly. I hadn't seen this guy since I was 8. He had no idea how bad things had gotten in the past year.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. I can't believe it. You must be a wreck, sweetie, how are you?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. I never really hated Charlie for anything. He sent my child support check on time, every month. He called once a month, as well, to check on me. I used to visit him every summer.

"I'm holding up." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"You always were a tough one. I can't believe they still haven't caught who did it. If I ever find that son of a bitch….." he trailed off. I understood his anger. The police had searched and dusted the whole place for evidence, but turned up with nothing. They couldn't find Phil, either.

"Listen, Bells, the reason I'm calling is to see what you're going to do now. You can't live in that trailer by yourself. Where have you been staying?" he asked after a long pause.

"I've been staying with my friend, Jacob." Oops.

"Jacob, huh? He your boyfriend?" he demanded, in a cop like fashion.

"No, Dad, he's just a friend. And he's gay." I added the last part, hoping he would drop it.

"Oh. OK, that makes me feel better. So, Bella, I hate to be blunt, but I just got off the phone with my attorney. Renee left a will, but she didn't say who would be your legal guardian. Seeing as though I'm your father, your guardian would be me." He was silent, waiting for my reaction.

"Oh. Wow, um, so you want me to move in with you?" I asked.

"That's the idea."

"When?"

"Next week. School starts here in two weeks." He sounded awkward saying that.

"In Washington. Holy shit, Washington. That's across the country."

"It's still in the same time zone." he offered.

"I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" I didn't say it meanly,

"I guess not. The last thing I want to do is uproot you, but maybe the change of scenery would do you some good." he suggested. He was right. I hated going outside here, everything reminded me of mom. The warm, dry climate, the night sky, the beach, all the cacti, everything. My mom's spirit lived here, and as much as I missed her, I needed to get away.

"You know what? That doesn't sound all that bad. I need to get away from here." I answered after a moment.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry I wasn't there for the funeral, or didn't call sooner. I talked to Billy a few weeks ago; he's been keeping me up to date with you. He said you were a wreck, and needed to grieve for a few weeks." he apologized gruffly. Billy had been talking to Charlie? Weird. It felt nice though, that he had cared enough to keep Charlie in the loop.

"It's fine, Ch- Dad." It felt weird to say.

"Not a problem, sweetie." The "sweetie" sounded strange coming from him.

"So, I'll see you next week? How long should I pack for?" I asked quickly.

"Um, I would pack for at least a few months. I plan on having you here for a while." He answered awkwardly.

He told me he would buy my plane ticket tonight. I would leave next Wednesday, only five days from now. We said quick goodbyes, and hung up. I took a deep breath after I hung up the phone.

"So you're leaving, huh?" said Jacob, scaring the shit out of me.

"Yeah. I'm so nervous, Jake. He has no idea how much I've changed. He probably still thinks I'm a little girly girl, who likes ballet and shit. Look at me! I scream illegal, and he's a cop." I cried, suddenly panicking.

"Calm down Bells. It'll be fine. He's not going to make you shave your head and wear dresses. Although getting rid of these might be a good idea…" he poked one of my dreads playfully.

"You're right. I'm just nervous. I haven't seen him in person since I was 8, man. It's gonna be so awkward." I moaned dramatically, aware of how annoying I sounded.

Jake talked me into calming down, and said he would help me start packing.

We drove to my old trailer to get my stuff. I hadn't been in here since that night. Billy and some friends and gotten rid of perishable foods and such, but all the furniture was still there. Jake went in first. I took a deep breath and stood in the doorway for a moment. That night came rushing back. How shocked and angry I was. I stepped in, and started to hyperventilate.

"It's ok, Bells. Nothing bad is going to happen to you." said Jacob, hugging me tight. That calmed me.

"Sorry I'm such a freak." I muttered, embarrassed that I couldn't handle this.

"You're not a freak. C'mon, let's get your stuff."

We packed all of my clothes first. Then, some personal things, like old journals, pictures and all my books. I went into my mom's room while Jake loaded some boxes into his truck. Everything was as I'd left it the night after. The bed wasn't made. I could see streaks of dirt on the white cotton sheets from my boots. I sat down on the bed and looked around. My mom had loved Asian art. There were Chinese fans, pictures of geishas, and scrolls. I remembered when I was a little, how I'd spend hours trying on her pretty clothes, and she would laugh, and put make-up on me. The memory brought tears to my eyes. I walked to her bathroom. It had been raided by police for meth paraphernalia, but her toiletries were still here. I took all her make-up and hair products and perfumes. Not that I would ever use them, but I couldn't bring myself to throw them out.

Jake convinced me to donate her clothes and shoes to a human trafficking shelter in downtown Phoenix.

"She would have wanted you to. She donated to that place whenever she could." he reasoned. He was right. I did, however, keep some of her favorite dresses. Giving up her clothes made me feel emotionally exhausted, so Jacob and I went straight home. I fell asleep on the couch as soon as we got there.


	5. Chapter 5

I played guitar for hours when I woke up. I felt so _free._ It was sad to see my mom's things go, but it was also a huge relief. My fingers were a little soft after weeks of neglect, but I definitely toughened them up.

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me_

_I'm not sleepy, and there is no place I'm going to go_

_Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me_

_In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you._

I sang until Billy ordered me out to the porch so he could sleep. That didn't bother me in the least, for I could sing and play as long as I wanted. Jake was grinning ear to ear hearing me play like myself again. I couldn't stop. It felt good to be me again. I knew my mom was in the sky somewhere, shining bright as a star to see that I was doing fine.

We went back to the trailer the following day. It was so much easier. We boxed up all the household items, like silverware, curtains, bed sheets, and furniture, and donated them to M.I.S.S.I.N.G, the human trafficking shelter my mom believed in so much. Exhausted and hungry, we went to a vegan café.

"I feel better about giving away all her stuff." I said, picking at my plantain and rice burrito.

"I knew you would." said Jake around a full mouth. "After my mom died, everything in our house reminded me of her. After dad and I moved, it was like a fresh start, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders." he added, eating a fifth breadstick.

"Slow down, man! You're gonna get sick." I exclaimed.

"Sorry. I've been so hungry lately. It never stops. I must feed." he said half jokingly.

"Growth spurt?" I suggested, noticing not for the first time how big he'd gotten. We were the same height a few months ago, but Now he towered a foot over my head. He'd also gotten wider, with broad shoulders and muscular tawny arms.

"I guess." he replied, dropping the subject.

We continued the routine of emptying out the trailer until there was nothing left. I had boxed up all my things and FedEx'ed them to Charlie. Renee had pawned all of her jewelry and valuables within the last few months for meth money, so there wasn't much.

Jake and I tried to keep busy, so we wouldn't think about us being separated. We camped all weekend out in the mountains. We brought a tent, but slept out under the stars instead. It was bittersweet, I always had a great time camping with Jake, but it would be a while before we could do it again. It wasn't only Jake I would miss. Arizona was my home. The Native American and Mexican culture was part of me. The dry air, the cacti, the mountains, and most of all the sky was so deeply embedded in my life. How would I function without it? When we got home on Monday, I cried while Jake took a shower. He caught me, and cried a little with me.

"We can always visit. And I'll buy a laptop as soon as I get there, so we can Skype." I offered.

"I guess." he agreed.

"Want me to sleep with you tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah!" he said, grinning. After Billy went to bed, we went upstairs to Jacob's room. It was littered with papers, some dirty clothes, and lots of pizza boxes. A typical guy's room. An unused bass guitar sat in the corner next to the computer desk. He had a bulletin board on one wall containing a calendar and lots of pictures. Most were of me and him, camping, eating, playing guitar, at the beach. There were some of him and his sister, some friends, and one of his recent ex-boyfriend.

He jumped on his king sized bed, and threw a pillow at me.

"Turn off the light lady, and come here."

I laughed, and shut off his lamp. Taking advantage of the darkness, I tackled him. We wrestled until he had me pinned.

"You're so beautiful, Bells. If I was straight, and you didn't have _these," _he tugged on one of my dreadlocks, "we wouldn't be sleeping tonight."

"Neither of those stopped you before." I replied, and then tickled his ribs.

"Stop, no! C'mon, Bells, nooooo!" he cried, as I tickled him mercilessly. I relented, and he lay back beside me.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Jake." I whispered, grabbing his hand.

"I'm gonna miss you, too. You're so much more than a friend to me." he squeezed my hand tight.

"Maybe we're soulmates." I wondered aloud.

"If you didn't mind me having boy-toys on the side, we could get married." he suggested, not an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.

"I could deal with that. Even if we don't get married, you will always be a part of my life." I stated.

"I know. Which is why I'm not worried about something you moving away. We're too close to let something like distance bother us. You're stuck with me for life, babe." he said, snuggling me.

"Spooning with a gay man. What am I doing with my life?" I asked jokingly. He hugged me tighter instead of answering.

We fell asleep quickly. I dreamt for the first time in weeks.


	6. Chapter 6

I awoke secure in Jake's arms. It felt nice to feel so loved and needed. It got awkward real fast, though. Jake must've had a fever, because he was HOT. I poked him in the ribs.

"Yo, wake up. You're like a furnace, man." I muttered. He groaned and rolled over. Free of my oven/friend, I jumped out of bed, and quietly walked downstairs. It had been two months since I was up this early. I looked at the microwave clock. 5:22 AM. I walked outside and was greeted by the crisp morning air. It was still dark, so the moon shone brightly on the horizon. The stars still burned bright in the pale navy sky. I had never realized how beautiful mornings were. My mom loved the moon. My middle name was Luna. She had the moon phase tattooed on her right inner forearm. I made a mental note to get a moon tattoo in her memory.

_Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance_

_With the stars up above in your eyes_

_A fantabulous night to make romance_

'_Neath the cover of October skies_

I sang softly. My mom used to sing me "Moondance" by Van Morrison every night before I went to bed when I was little. I exhaled, and started to vent.

"Mom, I miss you so much. This hurt is something you never prepared me for. Why did you leave? Why did you have to go, I'm all alone now. " I paused, thinking about how alone I really was. Sure, I had Jake and Billy, but they weren't mothers.

"I'm so angry, Mom. I'm angry at you, for getting mixed up with Phil. I'm angry with myself, for leaving. I'm angry at the person who caused this pain, mom. You left me for drugs, mom. Was I not good enough? What did I do? Goddamn it mom,_ why?!"_ I was whispering, until the end.

"That's enough, Bella." I heard Billy say from the back porch. He motioned for me come inside. Reluctantly, I did. Once inside, he started in on me.

"It's understandable to be angry. We all are. But you cannot be angry at your mother. She's dead, she can't give you the apology you're looking for. This anger will eat you alive." he said, though not in a judgmental tone. He sounded like he understood exactly what I was feeling.

"I guess, Billy. I'm just so mad. This whole time, I've been sad and hurt. Now, I'm pissed. What's wrong with me?" I cried.

"You lost your mother. That's not something you can just get over. It takes a lot of time. When we lost Sarah, Jake holed up in his room for a month. Then, out of nowhere, he started acting normal I was so happy, I took him to a soccer game. Things were going great, until some guy bumped into him. Jake flipped, and broke his nose. We were kicked out, and the guy tried to sue me until he heard the situation." he paused. I could see pain on his face, recalling these bad memories. "It didn't happen again until school started. On the first day, Jake almost got expelled for breaking a kid's arm. That's when we moved here, and Jake met you. You were a sassy little nine-year old that saved my son. You healed him better than time did. You helped him get through his grief, and he'll help you. We both will. My door is always open for you, Bella. I see you as my daughter, and you moving away is not going to change that." I didn't know what to say. Instead, I just hugged him, and said "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Now, go wake Jake up for me, I'll make breakfast." he turned away in his chair, obviously uncomfortable about showing so much emotion. I smiled and bounded up the stairs. Jake was still in a dead sleep. Before I woke him, I stared at his sleeping face. How much pain did those black eyes hold that I had never noticed? I couldn't imagine my happy-go-lucky best friend being so angry. I shook him, to no avail. It took some poking and assault with a pillow to stir him.

"Hey, muscles, wake up!" I cried. He let out a groan that resembled a dying whale.

"I was having the best dream!" he moaned through his pillow.

"Really now?"

"Yes. We were out of college, and you and I bought houses side by side. I had a hunk of a husband, and beautiful brown babies, and you and your rock star boy-toy had some cats and a turtle that bit me." he muffled through him pillow. I laughed, and pulled on his arm

"Sounds perfect. C'mon, Billy's making breakfast." I said, failing at my attempt to overpower him. The breakfast comment got him up fast. We raced down the stairs to find Billy making my favorite, breakfast enchiladas. I inhaled that beautiful smell of fresh corn tortillas and tomatillo salsa.

"Damn, Billy. What am I gonna do up in Washington? No one makes food like this up there. I'll have to live on white people food." I complained.

"You'll be fine. I'll send you some tomatillo sauce to put on your pork chops." Billy said slyly. Our last breakfast was great. We talked and laughed and ate like normal people. I did the dishes and straightened up the kitchen. Billy called me to the living room.

"Yeah?" I asked, not hiding the extra tortilla I was munching on.

"I have a going away present for you." said Billy. I looked at Jake, and he smiled. Billy handed me a small green wrapped box. I tore into it. It was an old jewelry bow. I opened it, and inside was a beautiful bracelet. It had amber and black stone beads, and two charms: a abalone crescent moon and a miniature iron howling wolf.

"Oh, wow guys, this is beautiful." I said in awe. It was the prettiest piece of jewelry I'd ever seen.

"I knew you'd like it. It was my moms." said Jake quietly. He had a small smile on his face. Touched, I hugged him tight, then hugged Billy.

"I'll never take it off." I exclaimed, putting it on. It fit my wrist perfectly.


	7. Chapter 7

We got my suitcase and guitar case loaded in the car. I stared at the Spanish-style house that had been my second home.

"God I'm gonna miss this place so much." I whispered.

"You're not leaving forever. You have to come down for winter break, so we can go camping out in the mountains for a week." Jacob reassured me. We hopped in the bed of the truck, and Billy took off. He weaved all around the back roads, knocking me and Jake around like he used to do when we were kids. It was hilarious. The airport was really only twenty minutes away if Billy took the highway, but he spent about a half hour driving around town to all my favorite spots. I really loved that guy. We drove past the Taco Shack, the beginnings of the desert, the river Jake and I used to swim in and even my old trailer. Finally, the mini-tour was over, and Jake put his arm around me as we headed to the freeway, so I wouldn't slide to the tailgate. When we got to the airport, I was windblown and dizzy. Billy stayed in the truck to avoid the mass of people. I hugged him goodbye, and he said to call if I ever needed anything, and to expect a package of salsas and spices soon.

"Goddamn, this place is packed." complained Jake. He was right, there must have been thousands of people packed into the small airport.

When we got to my gate, I only had ten minutes left before the gates closed. This was it. I looked at Jake, who looked as heartbroken as I felt.

"You call me as soon as you get to your layover in L.A." he said seriously.

"Not a problem. Damn it, Jake!" I started to tear up, and hugged him tight. I had to stand on my toes to reach his shoulders.

"C'mon lady, you're gonna miss your flight." he said gruffly, breaking the hug. I saw that he had tears in his eyes, also.

"I love you, man." I said, taking my carry-on from him.

"Love you too, babe." he replied, and quickly left as I boarded the plane.

The flight was pretty short, maybe 45 minutes. The layover in L.A. was three hours. I called Jake, and talked to him for a while. Then I called Charlie. He told me to be careful and that he couldn't wait to see me. I paced around the massive airport for a while 'til I heard a guitar playing. I walked toward it, and an old black man was playing these badass blues songs I'd never heard. I sat next to him on the edge of a water fountain.

"You need somethin' darling?" he asked kindly when his song was over.

"No, just enjoying the show." I replied.

"You play?" he asked.

"A little." I answered. He handed me the batted classic-style acoustic.

"Show me what you got!" he challenged. I laughed, and played the beginning of _Layla _by Eric Clapton. When I finished, he shook his head.

"You've got chops, girl. But that's an electric song. Show me what you can do on an acoustic song." he demanded. I racked my brain for a difficult song. Then, I started to play my favorite _Redemption Song _by Bob Marley. I started to sing:

_Old pirates, yes they rob I._

_Sold I to the merchant ships._

_Minutes after they took I_

_from the bottomless pit._

I skipped to the chorus. We had started to gain an audience.

_Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery_

_None but ourselves can free our minds._

_Have no fear for atomic energy,_

'_cause none of them can stop the time._

Blues-Man was smiling wide, and the crowd watching me had grown larger.

_How long must they kill our prophets,_

_while we stand aside and look? Oooh_

_Some say it's just a part of it._

_We've got to fulfill the book._

_Won't you help to sing_

_These songs of freedom._

_Cause all I ever had._

_Redemption songs._

People clapped, and threw some money in Blues-Man's hat.

"You've been through stuff, girl. It shows when you play." he clapped my shoulder. Beaming, I replied, "Thanks, brother, you're not so bad yourself. I'm Bella." We shook hands.

"I'm Huddie. Say, Ms. Bella, you know any blues songs?" he asked. He was clearly happy to have someone to jam with.

"One." I said, and started to play an old Leadbelly song. When I finished, I realized my plane was about to leave.

"I gotta go, Huddie, flight leaves soon." I said apologetically.

"Not a problem. It was great playing with ya." he replied. He tossed me an old chipped silver pick.

"Thanks, man!" I exclaimed, and slipped a twenty in his hat.

The flight to Forks was long and bumpy, but I ended up sleeping, anyway. The flight attendant hat to wake me up.

"Sweetheart, we're here." she said, lightly shaking my shoulder.

"Oh, sorry." I cried, flustered. I quickly grabbed my bag, and texted Jake that I was here on my way out. I stopped in the ladies room before I went to baggage claim. I looked at myself and sighed. My brown dreads with bright colored string wraps and beads were cooperating today. They hung down like normal hair. I'd worn a plum sweater, light faded jeans, and some old brown boots. I looked somewhat presentable.

"Here goes nothing." I said quietly to myself, and found walked into the terminal. There weren't nearly as many people here as there were in the first two airports. It was a lot smaller, too.

"Bella?" asked a shocked sounding voice. I looked in its direction and found my dad holding a piece of cardboard that read "Bella" in black spray paint.

"Hey, dad!" I yelled, and walked towards him. I didn't miss the awkward stares I was getting from some of the bystanders. Charlie looked more than surprised.

"Wow, Bella, you've um, changed." he said awkwardly.

"You could say that." I replied, and hugged him. He paused, then hugged me back tightly.

"I uh, I like the hair." he added. I smiled.

"Thanks, Ch- Dad." I answered. We walked to baggage claim quickly. I can't say I was excited to go to Charlie's house, but it had to be better than the stares I was getting here. We got my stuff and walked out to his car without a word.

"Whoa, is it really this cold in the summer?!" I exclaimed when we got outside. Charlie laughed.

"No, it gets much colder in fall. Even colder in winter." he replied.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the short chapter guys! But it gets better. Longer chapters to come!

I was shivering in Charlie's cop car. Not just because the heater was broken, but cop cars scared the hell out of me. Every time I saw one in our trailer park, I got so scared that they were there to take my mom away. Plus, I'm not exactly a saint when it comes to breaking the law. I smoke weed, I drink, and I've shoplifted, stupid stuff like that. _Damn, _I thought, _I haven't smoked for about a month. Where am I gonna get my shit here?_

"So, you play guitar, huh? When didya start that?" he asked, noticing my discomfort.

"Umm, I think I was about ten. Someone was throwing out this beat up acoustic with no strings, so I salvaged it. My friend Jacob and I patched up the holes and put some strings on it, and it was all downhill from there." I explained.

"Wow. That's pretty innovative. You any good?" he asked. He sounded genuinely interested, which was nice.

"I like to think so." I answered.

"You'll have to show me your stuff when we get to the house." he declared. This was nice. For a while, I forgot that I was hundreds of miles from my home.

"I'd like that." I laughed. We talked the whole way home. It was really cool catching up with Charlie. Maybe I could get used to this father-daughter thing.

"Home sweet home." he said as we pulled into the driveway of a big two story house. It was no mansion, but it was ten times better than the trailer.

"Wow, this place is _nice!_" I exclaimed. Charlie shrugged, and got my suitcase.

"It's better than nothing. All your stuff you shipped over here is in your room upstairs. You have a ton of books, girl." he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, I love to read." I said sheepishly.

The interior of the house wasn't that bad, lots of fishing décor. It was kind of a big bachelor pad. The stairs would take some getting used to, since they were steep and many and I was lazy. He gave me a mini tour of the downstairs, living room, kitchen, basement, and dining room.

"Up here," he said as we climbed the stairs I knew would become my enemy, "Are the bedrooms, the attic, the bathroom, and the study." he explained. _Study? _I wondered. What would Charlie need a study for? The hallway upstairs was painted a light fawn brown, and there were pictures of some people I didn't know, and some of me as a baby.

"Sorry if your room looks a little uh, cluttered. I'll take you to the furniture store tomorrow for a bookshelf and a dresser or whatever." he apologized.

"Really? Thanks, man! Er, Dad." I cried awkwardly. This Dad thing would take a while to get used to.

"You're welcome." he replied, smiling. He wasn't lying about the messiness. There were lots of boxes, and some clutter Charlie hadn't finished clearing out.

"The lady at the store helped me pick out the bed stuff. You still like purple, right?" he asked sounding doubtful. The bedspread was really nice, at least a hundred bucks.

"Yeah, it's great. Thank you, dad. Really, I mean thanks for having me here, and buying all this stuff. It really means a lot." I admonished.

"It isn't a problem Bella, I'm happy to do it. I have about eight years to make up for. Now, how about we go get something to eat, huh? You can unpack and all tomorrow after we get your furniture." he offered.

"Sounds great!"I answered, dropping my guitar case on the bed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Charlie left me to get settled as best I could with no furniture. Even the bed was ancient, and the frame was broken. I freshened up a little with coconut perfume and called Jake.

"Hey, man, I just got to Charlie's." I said before he could say hello.

"Great! How is it up there?" he asked.

"Cold as fuck! And it's only August. I'm gonna freeze." I complained. Jake laughed.

"How's the house?" he asked, still laughing at my plight.

"It's nice. There's two stories, plus an attic and a basement. My room is a hot mess, but Charlie said he's gonna take me to get furniture and all that tomorrow." I described.

"Nice! Are you going to get a laptop, so we can Skype?" he wondered, sounding hopeful.

"Yes, maybe next week I'll go to Port Angeles or something. Hey, I've gotta go Charlie wants to take me out to dinner. I'll text you later." We said our goodbyes, and I flew down the stairs.

"We might have to go get you warmer clothes." Charlie said in the car. He sounded amused.

"It seriously gets colder than this?" I demanded.

"Yup. And it get's rainier in the winter." he replied.


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow, I did not expect so many people to read this! I'm so glad you all like it. If you don't like it, please, let me know. I will not be offended! Reviews are always welcome ;)**

Charlie took me to one of the three diners in Forks. He got a steak; I got a rice and bean burrito. It tasted horrible.

That night, I slept on the floor rather than the uncomfortable bed. It finally sunk in that I was 1500 miles away from my home and my best friend. I couldn't help but cry. I started thinking about my mom. She would have hated that I'm living with Charlie now. She hated Forks, hated him. But I couldn't let that bother me. I missed her so much it hurt, but she had chosen a life of drugs over me. I had to think of myself first. And I wanted to be here, with my father. There was nothing wrong with that. I cried myself to sleep that night, and didn't dream.

The next day, I got up and felt a little better. I got up early, before Charlie, and made coffee. Charlie's coffee was strong, and even a little spicy. I had two cups before he came downstairs, looking like a bear fresh out of hibernation. He got himself a cup, took a few swigs of black coffee, and sat down next to me at the kitchen table.

"So. Sleep good?" he grumbled. Clearly, he was not a morning person. Thank God.

"Yeah, it slept fine. The floor was comfier than the bed." I joked.

"I'll get you a futon or something today, if you want." he replied. He finished his coffee, and went back up to his room to get dressed. I got a quick shower, and dressed in a long-sleeved grey thermal, a teal and orange flannel, and my only heavy jacket, a thick dark brown suede overcoat. I was tempted to put on two pairs of jeans.

Charlie took me to Wal-Mart first. There, he bought me everything I needed: dread shampoo, body wash, face wash, deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, mouthwash, razors, shaving cream, tampons, and even some essential oils. Then, he filled the cart with a ton of school supplies and groceries for me. It ended up being $300 dollars.

Then, he took me to a few clothing stores for long sleeved shirts, jackets, and an awesome pair of leather boots. After that, we went to a discount furniture store. There, he bought me a shabby light blue dresser, a huge bookshelf, a dark brown futon, and a computer desk. It took a little time to convince him I could get use my yoga ball as an office chair. He ended up spending almost $900 dollars on me.

"Dad, thank you so much. I can't believe you got all this stuff for me. You have no idea-" he stopped me.

"Don't even. I'm happy to do it, Bella. You're my daughter, you deserve all of this."

When I got home, there was another surprise waiting for me. A cool old orange pick-up truck was in his driveway.

"Right on time." muttered Charlie.

"Is someone here?" I asked.

"Nope. This is your homecoming present." he replied proudly. I was shocked. The truck was awesome, old and rustic. It looked like it got about 7 miles to the gallon. I loved it.

"No way. You already got me so much stuff. I don't need this." I exclaimed.

"That stuff was nothing. You needed all of it. This is a present from me. C'mon, wanna take it for a test drive?" he suggested, sounding like an excited little kid. I obliged him, and we drove a few times around the block. Lucky for me, I only knew how to drive a stick shift, so that wasn't a problem. I had to admit that it was awesome being spoiled like this.

When we got inside, Charlie helped me tackle my room. The furniture store had had people take all the furniture upstairs for us. Halfway into unloading all my books, Charlie got called into work.

"Bear attack? This is the fifth one this month. Yeah, I'll be right there." he hung up.

"I'm sorry Bella. But I'm the Chief, and they need me to approve everything." he said apologetically.

"It's all good. I'll have dinner ready when you get back." I responded.

"Ok. Um, don't do any heavy lifting or anything." he said awkwardly, and left. I waited until he left to laugh. I found a stereo in the basement, brought it upstairs, and listened to my Dirty Heads CD.

"Picture you and me in the cabin by the sea, sit up on a porch and we can burn a couple trees" I sang as I put away my clothes in my beautiful new dresser. I arranged the furniture against Charlie's departing wishes. I made up the futon and pushed it in the far right corner. Then, I moved my bookshelf next to the large window, and arranged all my books in alphabetical order. You could say I was OCD. Then I set up my desk against the wall with the door on it. I blew up my yoga ball and hung all my posters and pictures. I hung my Grateful Dead flag on the door, along with some Tibetan prayer flags Jacob had gotten me for my thirteenth birthday. Lastly, I lit a stick of incense, and the room was mine. Some ganja would have been fun, but I knew Charlie wouldn't tolerate that. After that, I made some authentic Mexican enchiladas with fried tortillas and tomatillo salsa. Charlie was more than surprised when he got home.

"You did all this in two hours?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep." I replied. I finished frying the eggs and placed one on each of our plates.

"I was expecting hot-dogs or something." he murmured.

"Naw, man, that's white people food!" I cried. We sat down, and Charlie ate every bit of what I put on his plate, and asked for seconds.

The rest of the summer went like that. That Saturday, I had Charlie drive me to Port Angeles so I could buy a laptop. We found a Best Buy, and I blew most of my savings on a dark pink Sony VAIO. It came with a router for $25 more. The week after that went by faster, for I Skype'd with Jacob every day. It dawned on me that school started in a few days, and I was terrified. New school, new people, new teachers to hate me. An all new hell for me to put up with every day.


	10. Chapter 10

Kinda long of a chapter this time, but Bella meets Jasper in this one! But, first impressions are crucial, and Jasper did not make a good one…. Hope you like it!

"Bella. Bella, wake up. C'mon, its 5:30, time to get up." a very unwelcome voice whispered, interrupting me from an awesome dream about the beach.

"No. Nope. Go away. Sleepy time." I growled.

"Time to get up sunshine. You're gonna be late for school." Charlie said sarcastically, and shook my shoulder. He seemed to be enjoying this.

"I'm up." I cried, throwing off my warm comforter. Even though we had the heat on, the floor was freezing.

"'Atta girl. First day of school! I'll have you coffee ready when you get out of the shower." Charlie said, and left me to pick out my clothes. I selected a light purple sweater, a grey cardigan, black jeans, my badass leather boots, and my heavy suede jacket. I got a long hot shower, stalling my inevitable going to school. I was so not excited for this. I towel dried my dreads, who decided to behave today, and got dressed. Before I left the bathroom, I slipped on the bracelet Jake and Billy had given me. It looked beautiful as always.

"You should probably get going!" called Charlie from downstairs.

"On my way!" I shouted back. I got my old tan messenger bag full or paper and pencils, and bounded down the stairs. Charlie had a thermal cup full of coffee ready for me, and a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Thanks, Dad." I said, and wolfed it down in a lady like fashion.

"Not a problem she-wolf. Have a good day at school." he gave me an awkward one armed hug, like we were homies.

"Don't count on it!" I replied, and carefully walked out to my truck.

When I got to school, it was a hot ass mess. There were so many people I didn't know. It took me forever to find my homeroom. I sat in the back with _The Catcher in the Rye _and tried to be invisible.

"Is that book like, required or something?" someone asked. Without looking up I responded "Probably not."

"Oh. Then why are you reading it?" she inquired. This stunning declaration of intelligence forced me to look up.

"It's my favorite book." I said simply. The girl was pretty, maybe 16, with medium length brown hair.

"That's cool. Are you new?" she asked bluntly.

"Yeah, I just moved in with my dad." I responded.

"Where from?" she demanded. Rude.

"Phoenix." I replied shortly.

"Oh. OK." she answered, and turned around in her chair. What. The. Fuck?!

The teacher passed out our schedules and paperwork and whatnot.

Period 1: Jazz Band

Period 2: P.E.

Period 3: English 2 Honors

Period 4: Anatomy and Physiology

Period 5: American History Honors

Period 6: Spanish 1 Honors

Period 7: Child Development

Where the hell had all these honors classes come from? Any social life I had hoped of having was shot down with that schedule. While I wallowed in the misery of all the upcoming work I had to do, the bell rang to dismiss us to first period. I tried to be an angsty teenager that didn't know how to feel, but I couldn't help but be excited for Jazz Band. I might meet some awesome musicians, maybe even a fellow guitarist to jam with. The classroom turned out to be the tiny theater. I arrived just as the bell rang, and counted about 15 other people. The instructor was onstage with a podium, calling out role. There was only one other girl's name called until they got to me.

"Isabella Swan?" he called. I raised my hand.

"Bella, please." everyone except two guys in the front turned around and looked at me like I was a serial killer or something.

"Bella it is." the teacher replied without looking up. He seemed like a cool guy. He looked about 60, but he had lots of laugh lines carved into his face. He finished calling role, and introduced himself.

"Hello class. My name is Jay Ricci, but I expect you to call me Jay, none of that Mister nonsense. So, as you may know, this is my non-performing Jazz Band, which means as the name implies, we will not be performing at school events or football games. We will be solely focusing on honing your musical abilities. But, I'm warning you now, this will not be an easy class. You may not be graded on performance like my other Jazz Band, but I expect you to sound just as good. At the end of this year, if you so choose, you will have a chance at getting an A for your final grade, regardless of how you have done the rest of the year. Every year I take my performing Jazz Band and three of you to a jazz festival in Seattle. There, you will perform a song of your choice, and if I deem it successful, you get a grade for the entire year. If you perform badly, I fail you. Any questions so far?" he paused and looked around for raised hands.

"Alright. Please, do not be intimidated at all by this class. I intend for the year to be enjoyable. My classroom is a safe place, which means anything said here s_tays _here, got it?" a few people nodded.

"We're going to do a little get-to-know-each-other exercise, as is the protocol for the first day of school. On stage, everyone." he ordered. Everyone slowly got up. Instead of using the stairs, I hopped up on the stage, along with two gorgeous looking guys. They took my breath away, literally, and I found it hard not to drool. Both were super pale, with black, hollow eyes. One had messy bronze-colored hair and cheekbones I would kill for. He looked at me strange as we joined the group. The other had shaggy honey blonde hair past his chin, and had peculiar scars all over his neck, and even some on his face. He gave me the same weird, almost offended look the other guy had given me. Suddenly, blondie tensed up, and appeared to be in pain. He glared at me for some reason, with this murderous gaze that terrified me.

"Hey man, you alright?" I cried, but stayed where I was. He looked like he wanted to kill me.

"He gets migraines. He'll be fine." the bronze-haired guy assured me. His voice sounded beautiful, almost like bells.

"You sure? He looked like he's gonna pass out." I countered, but still remained where I stood. Blondie looked a little more restrained now.

"I'm fine. These uh, _migraines _are pretty wicked." he said, sounding strained.

"Jazz, you want to step out-side or-"

"I am _fine _Edward." Blondie snapped, and quickly walked past me. Moody bitch!

"Alright everybody, if you don't mind, everyone stand in a circle. Circle, not oval. Great!" Jay brought out a foam ball.

"I'm going to toss this in the air. Whoever catches it will tell us their name, two hobbies, one interesting thing about themselves, and what instrument they play. Got it?" he asked. We all nodded. He tossed it, and a tall, plain looking girl caught it.

"Damn. OK, then. Um, I'm Angela Webber. I like to run and be on the Internet. Um, interesting thing about me. I guess I'm the tallest girl in our year? And I play violin." she informed, and tossed the ball in the air. Two guys caught it, one saxophone player and a cellist. The cellist tossed the ball, and Blondie caught it.

"My name is Jasper Hale. I read and hunt." the bronze-haired guy stifled a laugh. Jasper grinned at him.

"Intersting thing about me, huh? I'm a vegetarian. I'm a drummer." he finished. At the vegetarian line, Bronze-hair lost it, and busted a gut laughing.

"What's so funny, Mr. Cullen?" demanded Jay.

"Nothing, sir. Inside joke between my brother and I." laughed Bronze-Head. Jasper looked at me, and chucked the ball in my direction. It came so fast, I barely had time to catch it. It hit me in the stomach, hard. It knocked the wind out of me.

"The fuck is your problem, man?" I demanded angrily.

"Nothing darlin'. Sorry, too rough?" he asked sweetly. I glared at him, and chucked the ball at his head. He caught it like it was nothing.

"This is not Phys. Ed, you guys. We are not playing catch. Ms. Swan, your turn." Jay ordered, and tossed the ball lightly to me.

"Fine. I'm Bella. I camp and listen to reggae most of the time. I'm from Phoenix. I play guitar." I said shortly, and threw the ball at Bronze-Boy.

"Ya, mon!" someone called out. I smiled.

"I'm Edward Cullen. I write music and hunt, with my brothers and sisters. I'm also a vegetarian," he said, stifling a laugh as he grinner at Jasper, "And I play piano."

The rest of class, people introduced themselves. When the bell rang, I jumped off the stage, got my things, and got the hell out of there. Those brothers, I guess, were werid, and not in a good way. Especially that blonde one….


	11. Chapter 11

I racked my brain for reasons why Blondie/Jasper was being such a dick, but couldn't think of one. An what was that deal with being vegetarian and hunting, too? Frustrated, I slammed my locker.

"Problem, babe?" asked an all too familiar voice. I turned to see my best friend standing behind me. All thoughts of Jasper evaporated.

"JACOB!" I screamed, and threw my arms around him. Several people stared. I could have cared less.

"Happy to see me?" he laughed, breaking our hug.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I exclaimed. This was the best surprise ever. But, something was different about him.

"Dad and I just got in last week. This was the hardest secret to keep." he said.

"Your hair, Jake…" I reached up and touched his now-short black hair. It used to be past his shoulders.

"Yeah, I had to cut it. I can't really explain, Bells, but I will. Eventually." he said, sounding pained.

"This is so crazy, Jake. You live here now? You go to school here?" I asked relentlessly.

"Yes and yes. We sold the house and rented one pretty close to here. Look, I'll explain everything I can after school. We have class." he winked, and walked away, leaving me stunned. Confused, I went to P.E., racking my brain again. Why would he and Billy move here? They loved Arizona as much as I did. I shook my head, and dressed out. As I was putting on my gym shirt, I noticed a few girls staring at me.

"Something wrong?" I inquired as I out on my gym shorts.

"Oh, nothing." said one of them, the same genius from my homeroom.

"This?" I asked, pulling up my shirt and showing them my belly ring.

"Yeah. Why do you have that?" she asked. The other two looked fascinated. Beyond creeped out, I muttered, "Because I'm in a cult." and stormed into the gym. I didn't care that I wasn't wearing shoes. I waved at Jacob, who was playing knockout on the boys side.

"Forget something?" he asked, looking at my bare feet.

"I couldn't take it. This day has been so bizarre. The kids in my Jazz Band class are scary weird. The girls in the locker looked at me like I grew a second head when they saw my belly ring. YOU'RE here, with no explanation. You cut your gorgeous hair." I ranted.

"Sounds like someone's having a bad day." a peculiar bell-voice inquired. Jasper approached us from the bleachers.

"What the fuck do you want?" I demanded. He looked surprised, hurt, almost. Jacob immediately got this weird sort of primal look when Jasper got close. It was scary, and made me nervous.

"I apologize about my behavior in Band this morning. I had a terrible migraine, and took it out on the first person I saw, which happened to be you. That wasn't fair of me, and I'd like to start over," he offered his gloved hand. I briefly shook it. Who shakes hands in high school?

"I'm Jasper Hale." he introduced. Jacob continued to glare at him.

"Nice to meet you. Um, I don't feel good, Jake, can you walk me to my locker for some Advil?" I asked, trying to get them away from each other.

"Sure." he replied in an un-Jacob-like deep growl. I grabbed his hand and lead him away.

"We need to go home, now." I demanded when we got outside the gym. He nodded. We snuck into our locker rooms for our things, and booked it to my truck. We were silent the whole way home. When we were safely inside, I let him have it.

"You need to explain to me exactly what is going on here, Jacob. When we were Skyping last week, you were the same old you, with long hair and all. And what was that whole glaring thing with that creepy kid? Now, you got a damn buzz cut and- wait, is that a _tattoo?_" I cried. I pushed up the sleeve of his white t-shirt. There it was, a black tribal circle, fresh on his arm.

"What's going on, Jake? Please, talk to me." at this point I was crying.

"I literally can't tell you. I'm not allowed." he said, sounding frustrated. They way he looked at me broke my heart. I threw my arms around him. He was hot, like a fever, but even worse.

"Then show me, or something. Write it down. I don't care, just please; tell me what's going on so I can help you!" I begged, tears streaming down my face. My best friend was in some sort of trouble, and I couldn't help. It was the worst feeling in the world. Jake perked up, and ran to the dining room, where his backpack was. He nearly tore it open, and grabbed an old looking book. It read _Quileute Myths and Legends._

"What does this have to do with anything? I asked.

"I know we never discussed it, but I'm pretty sure you know I'm Native American, right?" he asked frantically.

"I guess, I never thought about it-" he cut me off.

"Well, I am. I'm actually Quileute. My dad told me a few weeks ago. Turns out, the Quileute reservation is here, in Forks. My mom and dad and I used to live there when I was a baby, but they moved to Phoenix. For good reason. But, this summer, after you left, something happened. I can't really tell you what," he broke off and laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I did. But look for the story in that book I told you about when we first met, the one my dad used to read me before bed. Try to remember, please." he begged, and left before I could say anything. Stunned and confused, I sat down and stared out the window for awhile. Then, I got up like a zombie, crawled into bed with _Quileute Myths and Legends, _and tried to remember.

****Five Years Ago****

It was when I was in fourth grade. I didn't have many friends, as no one wanted to be friends with the poor girl. All of my few friends came from migrant families, so they didn't last long. About two months into the school year when my life changed for the better. The bus had dropped us off early, so I went straight to the library. The librarian, Ms. Rizzo, greeted me warmly, as she had done every morning. I went straight to the chapter books, and started reading Harry Potter. The bell rang, and I grudgingly got up, and checked out the book I had been reading.

"Have a nice day, sweetheart." Ms. Rizzo said in a pitying voice that angered me. All the adults talked like that, as if they felt bad for me for being poor.

When I got to my classroom, I quietly say at my desk, and entered the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry. The bell rang, and I put away my book. In the front of the class, a boy I had never seen before stood, looking lost and scared.

"Good morning class." greeted Mrs. Hudson, our teacher.

"Good Morning Mrs. Hudson." we recited.

"I would like to introduce someone to all of you. This is Jacob Black. He just moved here, and I expect you to make him feel very welcome. Now, Jacob, why don't you go sit back there by the window, next to Isabella? Isabella, raised your hand." she ordered. I did so. Jacob Black quickly walked to the back, and sat next to me, eager to not be in the spotlight.

"Hi, Isabella." he said brightly.

"Just Bella. Nice to meet you Jacob." I responded. He smiled. We talked nonstop the rest of class, and talked in line on our way to lunch. As I got in the lunch-line, I realized my mom hadn't given me any lunch money. Sadly, I got out of line, and sat down next to Jacob, who had brought his lunch.

"Where's your food?" he inquired.

"I didn't have any money." I mumbled, and laid my head down on the table.

"Here," he said, and gave me half of his sandwich.

"Thanks. I like you, Jacob. Let's be friends." I said innocently, and took a huge bit of the sandwich half.

"Ok. Wanna hear a story?" he offered. He pushed a yogurt cup and a plastic spoon toward me, and dove into a scary story about these creatures called "The Cold Ones" and werewolves.


	12. Chapter 12

I couldn't make sense of it. Was this some elaborate joke Jake was trying to pull? It didn't seem like something he would do. I read that story about the Cold Ones at least ten times, trying to find some sort of symbolism or something, but all I got was mythical Quileute werewolves and whatever these Cold Ones were. Suddenly, I was how sorely I needed to get high. I checked the time, only 1:00. Charlie said he would be home late…

With that thought, I put out the fire, got in my truck, and drove to Port Angeles. I had about $220 left over from my laptop splurge. With gas, that should be enough. When I got to Port Angeles, it was 2:45. I parked my car at a random diner, and trolled around, looking for a seedy looking bar or something. After a few minutes, I found what I was looking for. The sign said it was a convenience store, but it was rasta colors. I walked inside, and the clerk smiled. He was a tall black man, with kind eyes and a Bob Marley shirt on. I was in the right place.

"What can I get you, little lady?" he asked, grinning widely. He knew what I wanted.

"Anyplace private we can talk?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"Of course. Follow me." he said, and led me to what appeared to be a supplies closet on the outside, but inside, I saw shelves loaded with pipes, bongs, and pill bottles.

"Now, you look like you know what you want." he said, gesturing for me to sit down at the small two-person table.

"I do. What kind of kush you got?" I asked, taking a seat on one of the folding chairs.

"Any kind you want, sweet thing." he answered. I felt a familiar pang of guilt. I know I shouldn't be doing this, weed is illegal and not that great for your lungs. But, I needed to clear my head.

"I need something to get me real high real fast. My dad gets home at 7." I asked, hoping he would have something.

"I got just what you need." he replied. He got up, and looked through a leather satchel behind the shelf full of cleaning supplies. He turned up with a sandwich baggie full or a dark green herb I was unfamiliar with.

"This is a type of ganja from Thailand, high quality stuff that people usually put in food. But, if you smoke it, it only lasts say, two hours, give or take. And, if you burn a little incense, it won't stink up your room." he added.

"Sounds perfect. How much you want for two grams?" I asked.

"Tell you what. I'll give you a first time customer's discount. Normally I'd charge a hundred for two grams of this sweet stuff, but I'll take $45 from you." he offered. Sweet!

"Thanks, man, I'll take it. Expect me back, you seem legit." I said, and handed him the money.

"Hope to. Have a nice time with that, now." he winked and led me out of the room. Excited as all hell, I ran to my truck, and hauled ass home for my pipe. Rather than risking Charlie, chief of police, finding me in the middle of a smoky haze, I drove to a deserted stone beach, and lit up.

Ganja-man was right, this stuff was amazing. It got me high almost as soon as the smoke hit my lungs. I sat on that beach in a haze for an hour, high as a kite, and thoughtless. It was pure bliss. I stared to come down, but I still felt at ease. All the drama with Jacob and Jasper were at the back of my mind. When I felt low enough to drive, I headed home. I sprayed myself with Febreeze from my car, and headed inside. Charlie would never know. I dicked around on my guitar until Charlie got home. We had dinner, and he asked about school. I lied, and told him I'd gotten some seriously bad PMS, and had to go home. On the topic of periods, Charlie shut up real fast about me ditching school, which was nice.

The next day, I had a tad bit of a leftover high, for I felt as though I could eat the entire contents of our pantry. I settled with two Pop-Tarts, a banana, a bowl of cereal, and a few spoonfuls of peanut-butter.

School wasn't as bad. I avoided Jasper and his brother completely in Band, and hit it off with a bass player named Eric. Our first song to learn was a tricky piece. I'd brought my guitar, and learned it on the second try. My class was full of really talented people. Eric controlled thunder on his bass, and we were totally in sync.

P.E wasn't such a nightmare. I retreated to the bleachers with Jake.

"Have you figured it out yet?" he asked incessantly.

"What's there to figure out? That story was about werewolves and vampires." I responded. After I came down yesterday, I decided not to press the issue with Jake. He would tell me when he was ready. Jake's face grew grave, and he sniffed my hair.

"You've been smoking that shit again, haven't you?" he demanded angrily. That was surprising. While Jake wasn't a stoner, he never had a problem with me smoking. He cracked jokes about it from time to time, but it was never a big deal.

"How you knew that, I'll never know, but yeah, I did yesterday. And it was rad as hell. You should try it sometime." I countered, crossing my arms. He remained silent the rest of class. How the hell had he known? My eyes weren't bloodshot. I'd taken a shower that morning. I blew it off as best I could. After P.E, I went to English. The teacher seemed nice, but spoke in a monotone. I slept through most of it. The bell woke me, and I shuffled into history. I sat in the back, near the window. I stared at the rain, fascinated by the stormy swirling grey sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked a familiar Southern-tinged voice. I snapped my head to the left, only to see Jasper taking a seat right next to me.

"Yeah." I said shortly, and got out my book, and began reading. I _so _didn't need his bullshit today.

"Catcher in the Rye. One of my favorites." he commented. I nodded slightly. I swear I could see him smirking out of the corner of my eye. He turned and faced the front. I peeked out from behind my book. I had to admit, he was pretty hot. His longish, curly blonde hair, muscled arms, golden eyes… Wait, golden? Weren't they black before? He caught me staring, and winked. With burning cheeks, I turned away.


	13. Chapter 13

The month of August went by without further incident. I grew accustomed to the weirdness of Jacob and Billy's impromptu move. In fact, Billy and Charlie really hit it off, and they were frequent dinner guests. I stopped trying to figure out Jake's mysterious story. I told myself it wasn't my business, but honestly, I was too scared to know the truth. Jasper was still a tad strange. He was flirty in an almost aggressive way, as if we were already dating. On a lighter note, another guitarist from Jazz Band, Angela, and I had really hit it off. We weren't inseparable the way Jake and I used to be, but it was nice to have her around. Her house was my escape from the strangeness at school.

The only negative thing was the nightmares I kept having about my mom. It was always the same one; Jake and I were walking back to my trailer, excited and carefree. As we approached, I saw an ugly man exiting the trailer. He held a gun, and as he walked away, he held a finger to his lips and said "Shhhh." with a smirk. I tried to scream every time, but I couldn't. I would turn to find Jake, but in his place was Jasper, with sharp canine teeth, and a murderous glare directed at me. He would lunge at me, and right before he attacked, I would wake up in a cold sweat. A few times I screamed, and Charlie would rush to me, reassuring that it was just a dream. I grew to hate dreams.

The first Monday of September, I woke up in a drug induced haze. The hash Jerome, the kind eyed dealer from Port Angeles, had sold me had some lasting effects. I had been smoking a lot with Angela lately to avoid dreaming. I shook my head vigorously, and headed to the shower. The cold water sobered me up a little. Under the effect of Columbian hashish, I embraced my inner hippie today, and dressed in a long fluttery peasant blouse, dark brown leggings, the badass leather boots Charlie had gotten me, and my leather jacket. I tied my dreads back in a ponytail, and almost looked normal. I said bye to Charlie and grabbed a cup of black coffee and a granola bar. Breakfast of champions. I got to school twenty minutes early, so I sat in my car awhile, eating and reading_ The Perks of Being a Wallflower. _A tap on my window interrupted my peace. Jasper's charming face was outside the passenger window. I couldn't really ignore him, so I unlocked my door. He hopped in.

"Hello, Bella. " he greeted, smiling. His smile was so dazzling. I found it hard not to stare. _Focus, Bella._

"Morning. " I put my book away. For some reason, my usual apprehension melted away. I felt completely comfortable with him.

"I know we got off to sort of a rough start. The first time I met you, I was so taken aback. You are so different from anyone else I've ever encountered. I didn't know how to react. I was wondering if you'd let me make it up to you, by letting me take you out to dinner this weekend."

I was shocked. In a good way. He was so damn hot, and he was asking a raggamuffin like _me _out on a date? He smirked, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"I'd uh, I-I'd love to." I stammered gracelessly. He grinned victoriously.

"Great. How about you eat lunch with me and my siblings today?" he suggested. I thought about it. Normally, Angela and I snuck into her car during lunch to eat and blaze up. I guess we could do without for a day.

"Sure. Can't wait." I smiled, and tucked a dread behind my ear. The bell rang, and we both hopped out of the truck. We talked all the way to Jazz Band, mostly about music. It felt nice to have a normal conversation with him. I sat next to Angela, and told her all about it. She squealed a little, and demanded she let me pick out my outfit for Saturday. At that moment, I felt like a normal teenage girl, nervous and excited that a boy liked me. When the bell rang, we got bathroom passes, so we could talk more in the hallway.

"Oh, I totally forgot, my cousin is here from Seattle. He's taking a semester off from college to travel a bit. He's a tattoo artist, and says he'll give us both tats for $40 a pop. You in?" she asked, looking excited. I felt another rush of nervous excitement. A tattoo? I'd always wanted one. Hell, why not now?

"Hell yeah I'm in!" I said a little loudly. This day just kept getting better. An administrator told us to go back to class. We walked in quietly, and I couldn't help but stare at Jasper. He really was gorgeous in an unearthly way. Pale skin, golden eyes, scraggly hair.

"I was thinking about a dagger on my inner thigh, with Hindi writing for peace on the blade. What do you think?" Angela whispered, interrupting me out of my creeping.

"Um. That sounds cool. Maybe a little too hardcore, though." I admitted.

"True. What about a tree of life, with an Aum sign at the base?" she suggested.

"That sounds way cooler. More of your personality." I commented.

"Thanks. What are you getting?"she inquired.

"The moon phase around my thigh." I answered immediately. For my mom.

"Wow, that was quick." she laughed. We made plans to get out tats after school, in her cousins motel room. She showed my pictures of his work on her phone, and I was very confident that he was legit. She also said she would eat lunch with me and Jasper. After band, I decided not to tell Jake about the tattoo. Lately, he had gotten really judgmental of everything I did. It made me a little sad, thinking about the way we used to be. He would steal some of Billy's moonshine, I would take Renee's tequila, and we would have a two person party every weekend. He never smoked weed, but he was fine with it, even let me do it in his room. Now, if I mentioned I stole one of Charlie's beers, and he turned into a PSA.

I stopped thinking about it, and attempted to immerse myself in American History. I failed, and took a quick nap. My next two classes dragged by very slowly. I texted Jake that I would be eating lunch with Jasper, and he quickly replied that he was going off campus with his new boyfriend Embry. Shocked, I didn't reply. He hadn't mentioned a new boyfriend to me, let alone a date.

Sadder than ever, I skipped fourth period and found Angela.

"Let's get a hit before lunch." I suggested.

"Sounds good." she replied, and we walked to her car. We squeezed into her backseat, where I got my pipe and a baggie full of hash out of my messenger bag. She got her bright pink and orange pipe, and helped herself to a tiny amount of herb. I did the same with my pale green pipe. She lit both of us, and we were silent for a while. My mind grew hazy, and I felt weightless. When we finished, Angela kissed me. Not in a sexual or romantic way. Just a friendly kiss. I smiled, and we held hands. At that moment, we understood each other, and felt each other's pain. I felt the pain of her father's impossible standards and her mother's affair with a younger man at work. I knew she felt the pain of poverty and my mother's drug use and death. We both cried a little. It was the most beautiful moment. We lay in her backseat for a few minutes before she said "C'mon, let's go have lunch with your hottie." I smiled, and we stumbled out of her car. We had reached a new level of closeness, and I was so glad to have her as my friend. We both sprayed ourselves generously with Febreeze, and stumbled to the girls restroom. Lunch didn't start for ten minutes. I put on some of Angela's makeup and used some eye-drops. When we looked somewhat sober, we walked to the cafeteria. And I was nervous as hell.


End file.
